Posts tagged ‘colli orientali del friuli’

Every industry needs new ideas – this is true no matter how large or small a business we are talking about. The wine industry welcomes new wines from emerging markets all the time, yet many of these wines are their country’s vintners’ take on recognized varieties seen around the world.

I recently tasted three wines from a project that is not only new, but one that is creative and very welcome in the wine world. The wines are three whites produced by Joseph Bastianich, who worked with several growers and producers in Istria, Slovenia and Friuli to craft these delightful aromatic wines. As the represented wine regions are all near the Adriatic Sea, Bastianich has given this project the name of Adriatico.

My tasting notes are below, but a few general notes on the three wines. They represent this area very well, each focusing on a different variety: Malvasia (from Istria), Ribolla (from Slovenia) and Friulano (from the Colli Orientali del Friuli zone of Friuli). They are from the excellent 2009 vintage and feature bright, tasty fruit and lively acidity, are beautiful food wines and are delicious. Best of all, each wine retails for $15! There are some gorgeous wines in these areas that retail for two to three times that and as some of those wines have received tremendous critical acclaim, it’s great that Bastianich and his friends in these areas have combined to give consumers such lovely wine values, which can only help focus more attention on these wine zones.

Here are brief notes on the Adriatico wines:

2009 MALVASIA (Istria)

Winemakers: Matosevic, Degrassi, Kozlovic

Bright yellow with a light effervescence. Yellow peach, pear and honey aromas – just lovely. Medium-bodied with good concentration. Lively acidity, good persistence in the finish and subtle notes of yellow spice. Very refined and delicate – enjoy over the next 1-2 years. Fine for lighter Oriental cuisine.

2009 RIBOLLA (Brda, Slovenia)

Estate bottled by Marian Cimcic, Ceglo, Slovenia

This variety is often identified as Ribolla Gialla; Bastianich is using the variety name as it is most often known in Slovenia. Straw-light yellow with lovely aromatics of spiced pear, jasmine and cinnamon. Medium-full with very good concentration. Rich entry on the palate and a lengthy, beautifully structured finish with vibrant acidity and notes of ginger and white spice. Gorgeous wine- enjoy over the next 2-3 years. (35-40 year old vines- stainless steel fermentation and aging).

2009 FRIULANO (Colli Orientali del Friuli DOC)

Ripe Anjou pear, cinnamon and mango aromas – just lovely. Medium-full with very good depth of fruit, very well defined texture, vibrant acidity and very good persistence in the finish along with a distinct streak of minerality. Perfect winemaking, excellent complexity and an outstanding value for $15. This wine is all about varietal purity, balance, complexity and best of all, pleasure! Enjoy this over the next 2-3 years. This is the richest wine of the three and offers the greatest complexity. This can stand up to most rich seafood and it would also work well with vegetable risotto or lighter poultry dishes.

As I wrote at the beginning of this post, every industry needs new ideas. The Adriatico wines at a $15 retail tag are especially welcome in this economy, but this is a concept that goes well beyond value. It’s also a project that sheds some light on a wonderful area of the wine world that receives much too little attention from the major wine publications. Congratulations to Joseph Bastianich and his team for their outstanding work on this initiative, from the beautiful label design and packaging to the remarkable quality of the wines!

Located in the far northeastern reaches of Italy, Friuli is one of the country’s most distinctive wine regions. Though some intriguing reds and a few remarkable dessert wines are made here, it is the singular white wines that give this region its strongest viticultural identity.

There are nine different DOC districts in Friuli; the most famous are two that border with Slovenia: Collio and Colli Orientali del Friuli. These zones are dominated by hillside plantings that limit yields; combine that with cool breezes from the nearby Adriatic Sea and the Giulian Alps and you have a recipe for wines of beautiful structure thanks to the long, cool growing seasons.

White wines are the stars of these zones, produced from a mixture of indigenous varieties such as Friulano and Ribolla Gialla and others such as Sauvignon, Pinot Bianco and Pinot Grigio. These white wines – most of them without any oak aging – represent the soul of the vintners in these two zones. Robert Princic, owner of the Gradis’ciutta estate in Collio, produces a brilliant Sauvignon typical of this area with its bright pear and spearmint fruit, light herbal notes, vibrant acidity and impressive structure. For Princic, Sauvignon from Collio, “is always elegant, at times discreet. at times intense, never coarse.” While he understands that there are many styles of Sauvignon from around the world, he finds that some of these wines are a bit aggressive, unlike the bottlings from Collio. “One should discover the pleasure that is the strength of Sauvignon from Collio.”

Here is a brief list of some of the finest producers of Sauvignon in the Collio and Colli Orientali districts:

Gradis’ciutta

Russiz Superiore

Villa Russiz

Venica & Venica

Ronchi di Manzano

Primosic

The local variety Friulano is another that deeply reflects the character of this region and its’ winemakers. Fermented dry and usually aged only in stainless steel (a few producers do experiment with older oak barrels), Friulano offers a variety of aromas, depending on the local terroir; in fact, I have yet to find a variety that displays as wide an aromatic profile as this. One example will feature pear and chamomile aromas while another offers notes of mandarin orange, kiwi and grapefruit. When you have as many pleasing aromatics as you do with Friulano, why cover it up with oak?

One other advantage Friulano has is its ability to age. Even the basic examples are often fine three years after the harvest with most drinking well from five to seven years from the vintage date with a few lasting as long as 10-15 years. At the I Clivi estate, owner Ferdinando Zanusso is now selling his 1999 and 1996 bottlings of Friulano; the wines have beautiful color and excellent freshness; these two wines, if properly stored, should drink well for another 5-7 years.

Here is a brief list of some of the best producers of Friulano from the Collio and Colli Orientali districts:

Bastianich

I Clivi

Livio Felluga

Russiz Superiore

Villa Russiz

La Castellada

Le Vigne di Zamo

Isidoro Polencic

Livon

Many vintners in these two zones also produce a high-end white – sometimes referred to as a Super Friulian – blended from several varieties. Arguably the most famous is Terre Alte from Livio Felluga, a blend of Friulano, Pinot Bianco and Sauvignon. Quite rich on the palate with aromatics of chamomile, pear, grapfruit and hawthorn, this is one of Italy’s finest wines and one of its longest-lived whites; bottlings from the late 1980s and most of the 1990s are drinking beautifully now.

Other producers also make a similar white. Livon is well known for its Braide Alte bottling, a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Picolit and Moscato Giallo, the last two varieties used for increasing the aromatic profile. This wine spends more time in oak than the Felluga Terre Alte, so the flavor profiles vary, yet it too enjoys a long life; I tasted the 1996 at VinItaly this past April and was impressed by its power and balance.

Here is a brief list of the most famous blended whites from Collio and Colli Orientali:

Bastianich “Vespa”

Livio Felluga “Terre Alte”

Livon “Braide Alte”

Russiz Superiore “Col Disore”

La Tunella “Biancosesto”

Gradis’ciutta “Bratinis”

Marco Felluga “Molamatta”

These blended whites – as well as the monovarietal whites – are striking examples of the quality of the whites wines from Friuli in particular and Italy in general. Here’s hoping that these wines are given more widespread visibility so the world can experience the glories of the Collio and Colli Orientali districts!